Recently, I was throwing out a week's worth of plastic juice and water bottles, thinking there must be a less wasteful way of packaging drinks, when I had an idea: why not package juice and water in balloons? Then, when you're finished, you can throw away the balloon (attached to a lid with spout, to
make it easier to drink from). The balloon and lid would be a fraction of the bulk and weight of a plastic bottle. It would be less expensive, too, for manufacturers, I think.

The two main objections I can think of are: first,that the balloons might burst. Definitely, a thick balloon would have to be used, especially for juices. Maybe Trojan could come up with something? :) The second objection is that the balloons might give the water an unpleasant taste. I'm not sure what to do about that, but there must be some solution.

Ecoleanhttp://www.ecolean.com/Its done and work perfect ! Check out company, formed by Hans Rausing well known inventor that discovered a way to bag fluids into cardboard/plastic containers (tetra pak) [bengtnick, Dec 24 2009]

Biggest obection I can see is the difficulty of stacking and handling these en masse, creating problems for the stores. And balloons are a major choking hazard to wildlife.

And while the empty container will have less bulk, crushing plastic bottles eliminates that advantage. So you're better off just disposing of plastic bottles properly.

(Having just spent a week on the Georgia coast, I was appalled not just at the usual trash that floated in off the sea, but at just how many of the plastic bottles and cups on the pristine beaches had the hotel's logo on them. Is it really that difficult to put your trash in the bin?)

In Belize the Crystal water company sells 12 oz. plastic bags of water which are simply torn open with the teeth and squozen into the mouth. In stores, they are the most economical water source available, because they are just little bags. So, the concept is baked.

A lot of bottles are ribbed for her pleasure (mother nature) so that you can crush them to a smaller size. A bottle before it's inflated looks like a test tube with a screw cap. I'm not sure if they would behave the same as a crisp packet when heated (shrink to a smaller size) but if they did that could be a solution.

This is all a moo point of course if you recycle, although it would be handy to have some kind of machine for making the waste more compact for transportation. I can't think what you'd name such a device though

In Germany milk came in a sort of plastic bag for some time. You had to buy a hard-plastic container to be able to handle it, but just once. I'm not sure why they quit doing it, it cannot have been because of spillage, as i never saw one burst.

I agree with Texticle's thought, we need to figure out some way to deliver water to homes, business, restaurants, etc, and some manner of imbibing that water that doesn't require one-use plastic bottles.

I think most people missed my point, that there would be a lid attached to the water balloon, with a spout that would make it easier to drink from. I'm not suggesting just drinking out of a water balloon. The water that comes out of your tap is under high pressure, too, but it doesn't 'shoot everywhere' does it?

Of course, if you're at home, you can drink tapwater. But if you're out jogging, it's a bit different.

Even crushed, plastic bottles take up more space than a balloon would (just think of how many condoms they can fit into a pack).

The objections to this idea are naught but easily overcome hitches in a very reasonable plan. It is a source of regret to me that good, well intentioned, and logical ideas like this are often met with almost completely negative reaction and seemingly deliberate misunderstanding. The fact that this is already done in more impoverished and less rigidity-obsessed areas of the world should count for something.

So the real source for this idea was the need for water while out jogging without having to use a bottle. Just check your local yard-watering regulations and jog a route designed to take you alongside the even-numbered addresses on their assigned days and the odd-numbered ones the other days. That way when you need a drink you just stick your head in the spray from somebody's sprinkler. Free water, no bottle to carry or dispose of.

Thanks, Monk, for reference to that article. So, someone has invented this already. And guess what? It won an award for BEST NEW PRODUCT OF THE YEAR. While I suggest virtually the same thing on halfbakery and get almost universally panned! What does that tell you? I'm outta here.

I think that you could make this work if you were looking for a vending machine model. Basically you could use a water hookup and have juice/cola concentrate. Then you inflate a balloon with EZ-sip-tip (flow regulator) and save on restocking visits as well as bottle disposal. Perhaps a school? (But they better be tamper proof tips!)

The reason bagged drinks aren't going to happen in the states for a while is that the bottle people got into the business with glass bottles before bag technology was possible, switched to plastic when they forgot what a good thing they had going, and they have been making a lot of profit and a lot of waste ever since. At this point, whether the public knows it or not, they will be doing everything they can to blast beverage bags out of the water with their superior monetaries. And madpoet, it took me a long time to realize this, but being "almost universally" boned doesn't necessarily have to be a wound to your ego or a statement about your sexuality.

Like the idea. Ecolean as i posted as a link does exactly this. The packing is easy like stacking fluid water into a barrel, ive been told. If thats not true packing is easier with standard carriers and boxes that carries the weight of other on itself instead of letting the load be on other items.

I was also told that one of these containers could bear my own bodyweight (at the time 120 kg) on one milkcanister (0,75 liter). The plastic is degradable in nature and made of a plasticlike material with a main component of crayon.

This is a good example of a great idea with a lot of sceptism. Inventors and thinkers must close their ears to some of the critisism.